, 1887-06-09


sleeves and stirring some butter which he was
testing He tells me that he has plenty to do
and that he has enough work on hand to keep
him busy for months at least. He showed me
u refrigerator in which there was a great
stock Of butter and oleomargarine to be
tested, and he explained to me the process of
finding whether the butter was pure or made
Of fats II it is not pure the maker is subject
to fine, and he must pay the tax required
for the selling of the oemargarine. He told
me that he did not particularly mind the
smell, and that one soon got used to it. He
does not think good oleomargarne at all bad
eating, and says when it is new you can tell
it from butter only by analyzation.
.ts
l next went to the life saving museum
and spent some time in looking over the Gu
rious models, and from there visited the car
pet room, where the carpets for all the offices
connected with the treasury department
throughout the country are made. When a
customs Office in New York, for instance,
wants a carpet, its official sends on to the
treasury department diagram of the ROOM
The treasury buys the carpet, cuts it accord
ing to the diagram, sews it together and
sends it to the office ready for putting down.
1t buys in large quantities, and it gets for 81
what costs perhaps the ordinary customer
$3.50. 1t thus saves the people many thou
sands OF dollars yearly, and the government
of the United States is run on a closer basis
than people suppose. This treasury depart
ment buys everything in quantity, and it
supplies nearly everything to its subordinate
offices over the country. Every penny is
watched, and he Is a sharp contractor indeed
who can get ahead of Uncle Sam. This car
pet room of the treasury department is as big
as that OF the ordinary city hall. Its walls
are piled high with great bundles Of Brussels
carpet, and at one end there is a sort of bin
which contains thousands upon thousands of
yards. Upon the floor lie carpets sewed and
ready to be sent out, of every shape and size,
and in the window sit two women busily
sewing. They have sewed here for years, and
these women make up nearly all of the gov
crnment carpets. The carpet is cut out by a
professional cutter and handed over to them.
They take it ON two wooden horses much like
those used by carpenter, SO that the two
edges to be sewed together are held even
They then sew at these. moving their chairs
along as they do so They are very expert,
and can turn out many yards of carpet a day.
1 chatted with them us they busily Piled the
needle, and they told me that though the
work was hard the pay was good, and they
liked their positions.
In another room once found number of
young ladies busily working away at stamps.
The law had been changed and tie treasury
wanted to change some old stamps to cor
respond with it. They were doug this with
hand stamps, and these stamps were operated
by treasury mnidens. AS / looked at their
small hands and delicate white wrists asked
the guide did not they get very tired pound
ing down on that paper all day. He re-
piled yes; at first they could hardly work the
second day, but they gradually broke them
selves into 1t and soon did very we'll
~.
There Is a library and a bookbindery also
in the attic of the treasury, aud Mrs. KIM
ball, the librarian, tells me that the govern
ment clerks are as a class readers, and that
there Is large demand for the better au-
tborities upon history and biography. She
says the negroes Of the department patronize
it largely, and that their taste does not run
TO novels, but rather to history, politics and
religion.
Speaking of the treasury clerks, they are
much excited, as are indeed all clerks at
Washington, about the new civil service
rules, which provide that old clerks shall un-
dergo civil service examinations. Many Of
them are studying their school text books,
and 1t looks rather queer to see gray haired
man or woman with a spelling book in their
hands. 1t is rather ridiculous too sometimes;
as for instance ! am told that the most ex-
pert of the lady counters Of the treasury-a
woman who has a national reputation for ac-
curately lingering certain number Of thou
sand bank notes in day-is now engaged
during all of her leisure time in studying
geography. FRANK g. CARPENTER